


In the Lobby

by Em_Esta_B



Category: Ghost in the Shell (Anime & Manga)
Genre: F/M, Fluff
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-06
Updated: 2020-09-06
Packaged: 2021-03-06 22:08:09
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 778
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26326144
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Em_Esta_B/pseuds/Em_Esta_B
Summary: This is set in between episodes 3 and 4 of Ghost in the Shell:ARISE
Relationships: Batou/Kusanagi Motoko
Kudos: 10





	In the Lobby

It wasn’t terribly unusual to check in on each other. After all, they had worked together in the war, and it looked like they were stuck together on this new team of hers for the foreseeable future. And while he wasn’t fond of her initially, Batou had to admit that Major Kusanagi was beginning to grow on him. He wasn’t particularly sure when it had started to happen.   
From the outset he thought she was brash and that habit she had of infiltrating him to win arguments wasn’t particularly endearing. But he was damned if she didn’t get results. Anything that terrifying woman put her mind to, whatever the puzzle or mystery, she was guaranteed to solve. She was terrifying, alright, and that was probably the most alluring thing about her. He almost hated that he found her alluring.  
And yet here she was, checking in on him outside of their roles of commanding officer and subordinate. Picking his brain on some new idea that she’s had, with that same intensity that she turned towards investigating and a joie de vivre that he had come to be able to recognize - even if nobody else on the tac team could. She trusted him enough to come to him like this, showing the closest thing to vulnerability that she was capable. It made his chest feel tight - he’d have to have the wiring in his abdomen checked.  
It was always late when he popped into her lobby. “Hey, Major, sorry to bother you, I just thought of something.” If he were anyone else, he would be bothering her. But they’d been teammates for about a year now and while he had the capacity to be absolutely insufferable, more often than not he was supportive of her leadership. And he’d proved more than once that nobody was better suited to go into combat with her than he was. Despite his crassness, Batou had managed to get close enough to her to be considered a friend. Or had she allowed that to happen?

She changed her lobby. It wasn't like floating underwater anymore. Perhaps that reminded her too much of that Hose guy. That whole Skila affair was bad news. She hadn’t trusted any of the team, she hadn’t trusted him, enough to share what she knew until it was nearly too late. And being betrayed by the guy she liked enough to have him move in with her had been a blow that even she couldn't bluff her way through.   
Batou looked around at the endless expanse of muted colors and shadows. An orb of light floated near him. Palming it, he pulled it towards him to get a closer look. Realization slowly washed over him. "This is an unusual getup, even for you, Major."  
"I don’t want to use my avatar right now."  
"Why not? Don't tell me you're still butthurt about your ex boyfriend."  
"What do you want, Batou?"  
"I was just checking in on you."  
"Well, here I am." He huffed at her and then inquired with an unfamiliar softness to his voice, "You wanna talk about it?"  
"Not particularly."  
"Well you should know I'm a little concerned about you. The others might not be able to read you, but they wouldn't need to in the state you're in. You know that you can talk to me. It's not like I'll go running my mouth to the team about it, that wouldn't benefit anybody." The orange colored ball of light shifted and he found himself face to face with her usual avatar. She eyed him carefully. "What are you, a training instructor?"  
"I have been, yeah, but right now I'm just here as a guy who is worried about the closest thing he's got to a best friend." She looked away. "I fucked up Batou. I wanted Akira to join Section 9. I had him move in with me. What a total fucking lapse in judgement."  
"Hey," he pulled her into a protective embrace, "in five years it'll be a hilarious story. It just hurts right now. But that'll go away."  
"What are you doing?"  
"You need a hug, jackass. Everybody does from time to time." Slowly she relaxed against his avatar. Even in their lobbies, the sensation of skin on skin was transmitted as if they were in the physical world. But here, he was warm. In the physical world they were both fully prosteticized, and their bodies were whatever the ambient temperature was wherever they happened to be. He felt human here. And he felt safe. Her chest tightened, she would need to check the wiring in her abdomen.   
"Your best friend, huh?"  
"Well, close enough."


End file.
